Jonathan L. Dee
Jonathan Lindsay Dee (or John Dee, John L. Dee) is a Canadian actor, writer, producer and director. Dee is best known for the roles of Tobi Dala in the Star Wars series, Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series, Cpt. Jack Sparrow in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean series, Dr. Mark Greene on the TV show E.R. and Jack Bauer in the television series 24. Dee has been married to singer/dancer Paula Abdul since 1986 and they have four children together. Though Dee has worked on numerous projects, he is best known for his work in sequels and franchises, which has given him the nickname "King of the Sequels." Early Life Jonathan Lindsay Dee was born on June 15, 1962, in Montreal, Canada. The oldest of six children born to Sharon Joyce Dee (née Boyle), a homemaker and George Thomas Dee, an construction engineer/industrialist. His siblings are Elizabeth Jean (b. 1969), Serge Raymond (b. 1972), fraternal twins Michael James and Melissa Ann (b. 1974) and Stephanie Mary (b. 1977). The Dee family were neighbors to Harry and Lorraine Abdul, parents of Paula Abdul, the future wife of John Dee. The two were inseparable growing up to most reports. At the age of 12, Paula and John were separated when Harry Abdul received a job offer in Los Angeles. Working tirelessly in 1975, at the age of 13, Dee saved enough money to visit the Abdul family in California. He chose to visit during Spring Break and on a dare from Paula, he went to an open-call audition for an upcoming space movie. Ill-prepared, but having a naturally sociable personality, he won over the casting director and the film's director George Lucas. With his parent's permission, Dee was cast in one of his signature roles, Tobi Dala in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Career Star Wars In 1976, Dee was cast in role of Tobi Dala in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. To overcome the age difference between himself and his role, he was disguised with the character's costume and old age make-up. Dee's personality was that of a performer and so he won over the cast and crew in the part. His future mother-in-law Lorraine Abdul volunteered to act as his legal guardian and the crew lied about his age to circumvent child labor laws in England. Dee was a naturally tall kid having reached 6 ft by the age of 13, this helped with the deception. It was during this film that he developed a longtime friendship with actress Carrie Fisher. Upon completion of the film, he returned to California (moving in with the Abduls) as he fielded offers and future possibilities. Desiring to continue his career, Dee attempted to audition for the role of Superman but was denied due to his age and inexperience. On the release of the film, it shattered box office records, and made household names of its stars. Contracted to appear in the two sequels, Dee returned for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back though his part had to be reduced when filming for Superman The Movie overran, and the firing of Richard Donner caused production issues. Working with William Walton Granger and director Irvin Kirshner, they worked out a production schedule with the re-shoots of Superman II and created an illusion that Tobi Dala was in more of the film. In 1982, Dee finished his contract for the Star Wars films by appearing in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Once again his busy schedule interfered with his appearance in the film. Limiting his role in the opening "Jabba" sequence to the final battle over the Sarlacc, Dee appeared in roughly half the running time in the second sequel. Following the end of original trilogy, Dee had meetings with William Walton Granger to discuss his possible appearance in the planned sequel trilogy. As one of the few scheduled characters to appear in both, along side Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker, he'd be one of four actors who could appear as his original role. In the end Dee agreed to return to play a younger version of Tobi Dala (much like Ian McDiarmid did as Palpatine). Dee filmed most of his roles on soundstages using green screens and advancement in CGI. Not liking the experience as much as the original trilogy, he fought hard to keep his character relevant to the plotlines of each film. In the end Dee speaks occasionally critical, but reasonably pleased with the experience of the prequel trilogy. Considering the final duel between Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his character a highlight in the series. After the re-release of the original Star Wars trilogy for the Special Editions, Dee was informed of the plans for a sequel trilogy. Assuming he would not take part, Granger admitted that his character will technically be dead by the start of the first film, but was asked to return as a Force ghost for the first film and then made a cameo in the last film of the series. Halloween During the summer of 1977, while Star Wars was becoming a pop-culture phenomenon, Dee encountered John Carpenter at a convention and had praised him for Carpenter's second film Assault on Precinct 13. Carpenter revealed details of his next project, "The Babysitter Murders," which later became John Carpenter's Halloween and Dee offered his services in the role of the killer. When informed that the role had no dialogue, Dee happily agreed stating; "No lines to remember. I should pay you." When production became delayed on the set of Superman The Movie, Dee had to drop out of the film. But after Richard Donner was fired from his role as director in the nearly completed sequel Superman II and looking at extensive re-shoots, Dee quit the role of Superman. After careful negotiations, Dee agreed to return to finish the Superman sequel on the condition that he have ten days to shoot Halloween. With only five days in the budget for Donald Pleasance and ten days for Dee, Carpenter still managed to make a classic film. Dee was praised for his silent performance as Michael Myers (The Shape) and was willing to return for the first sequel Halloween II out of loyalty to Carpenter and producer Debra Hill. Joined by his co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance, all assumed this would be the last film in the series. In 1988, Dee agreed to return for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers but found the experience unpleasant. When offered a chance to return for Halloween 5 or Halloween 6 he declined. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the series, Jamie Lee Curtis and Dee attempted to create a reunion movie bringing back John Carpenter as director. While they were unable to get Carpenter to reconcile with producer Moustapha Akkad, they continued with their plans. Two scripts were written and Akkad could not decide which to film. Dee joked that both should be made and as a marketing gimmick it was decided to do both. The first film Halloween: 10/31/98 was heavy on Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode character and the second Halloween: The Thorn featured Dee as a lead in a role other than Michael Myers, with Curtis being killed mid-way through the film. The double feature concept was a major success and to date the last time Dee has appeared in the series. A Nightmare on Elm Street In 1984, Dee created his next signature role, that of Freddy Krueger. Originally actor David Warner was originally slated to play Freddy. Make-up tests were done, but he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Replacing him was difficult at first. "I couldn’t find an actor to play Freddy Krueger with the sense of ferocity I was seeking," Craven recalled on the film's 30th anniversary. "Everyone was too quiet, too compassionate towards children. " Craven originally intended to cast an older actor to play Freddy Kreuger, but the script had somehow reached the hands of John Dee and he quickly offered to be an investor in the project, offering $250.000 to the budget. “Basically I bribed them,” Dee once said in Fangoria magazine, for the part of the villain. Dee had already played Michael Myers in John Carpenter's Halloween and enjoyed playing a killer. Dee also liked the dream imagery and concepts within the script. New Line Cinema was happy to have a large name to help sell the project and Craven agreed to audition Dee for the part. "He was much taller then I’d hoped, and he had his Superman physique, but he impressed me with his willingness to go to the dark places in his mind. Johnny understood Fred Krueger." To get that understanding, Dee had darkened his lower eyelids with cigarette ash on his way to the audition and slicked his hair back. "I looked strange. I sat there and listened to Wes talk. He was tall and preppy and erudite. I posed a bit, like Klaus Kinski, and that was the audition," he said later. Dee at first objected to the idea of having Freddy’s entire head burned, but was outvoted by Craven and Shaye and so he capitulated. He would later remark that the make-up really helped him in creating the Freddy persona. The first film was a major success and helped to launch New Line Cinema as a major studio in Hollywood. Dee, having invested in the first film, became a co-producer for all sequels and made more money from this role up to that point. Dee happily returned to play "Freddy" in all sequels of the series, ending with Freddy vs. Jason. For the reboot, Dee happily encouraged the re-casting of the part to make things fresh. He supported the film itself as well as actor Jackie Earl Haley who was cast in the role. E.R. While filming Jurassic Park Dee learned of an upcoming production by Steven Spielberg and author Michael Crichton. His children were still toddlers and Dee had promised his wife to find a new job that would allow him to be home more often. Other television series had been looked into, but nothing gravitated toward the type of drama that held an interest for Dee. E.R. a series about a fictional Chicago hospital and the doctors working there peaked his interest. At once Dee offered himself up for a role, after ensuring that it would not be a star vehicle, rather an ensemble cast. Dee had no desire to carry a show on his own shoulders and preferred to share the duties with others. Taking his pick of roles, Dee chose the non-descript Dr. Mark Greene thinking it was more suited to his personal life, rather the more exaggerated roles he had been known for. Dee received top billing and a starting salary of $150.000 per episode. He became good friends with co-stars George Clooney, Noah Wylie and Sherry Stringfield. When Clooney suggested they film an episode live, Dee loved the idea of such a challenge and happily put his support behind it. Dee remained with the series for eight years, opting to leave the show in 2001. From friends Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, Dee learned of a new series 24 and campaigned for the lead role of Jack Bauer. For that series initial season, he worked on both shows, but left ER to focus on 24, which had gained a cult following by the following year. For the fifteenth season, Dee returned to the series in flashback form (his character had been killed off) to pay respect to the series that further helped his career. 24 Upon its conception by series creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, the pilot for 24 was pitched to Fox who immediately bought it, saying they felt that the idea for the series was one that would "move the form of television forward". Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment helped to produce the show and upon learning of it, and its unusual format series star Jonathan L. Dee approached producers for consideration. Dee was eventually cast in the role of Jack Bauer as he finished his final year of ER. The episode had a $4 million budget with filming in March 2001. The pilot of the series was well received by critics, and was signed on for an initial thirteen episodes. Production began in July 2001, and the premiere was planned for October 30, but because of the September 11 attacks, delayed until November 6. After the first three episodes, Fox greenlit the remaining filmed 11 episodes and following Jonathan L. Dee's Golden Globe win, Fox ordered the second half of the season. Though it suffered in the ratings and to gain an audience in its first year 24 eventually caught on in the social strata of America. Dee was placed in position of an Executive Producer and helped to formulate seasons with the rest of the production staff. Dee signed on for 5 additional seasons after the first. Though popular with critics, some criticisms against 24 included the series' reliance on poor subplots, and the show's eventual depictions of torture, as well as its negative portrayal of Muslims. Jack Bauer portraying torture as normal, effective, acceptable and glamorous was criticized by human rights activists and military officials. Dee accepted the criticisms and repeatedly would state that the show was merely a reflection of real life. After season 5 there was a reduction in torture in subsequent seasons of the series. In season 7 the series addressed the topic by having Jack Bauer brought before a Judicial committee to answer for his actions in past seasons. Dee had came up with the idea for the show as a means to help bring the issue of torture to public attention. Dee remained with the series for all 8 of its seasons. When attempts to adapt 24 into a feature-length film failed, the show was brought back for a special 12-episode limited mini-series Live Another Day. The series was a ratings and critical success in 2014 and renewed interest in the show. Dee has announced that while he would happily return as Jack Bauer, at this time there are no plans for him to return to the series. Pirates of the Caribbean Walt Disney Pictures wanted to create a film around their attraction Pirates of the Caribbean. Jerry Bruckheimer was hired to produce. Gore Verbinski signed on to direct The Curse of the Black Pearl, and Dee signed on the following month to star. Verbinski and Dee were both attracted to the idea of using modern technology to resurrect a genre, one that had disappeared after the Golden Age of Hollywood. Dee was equally taken in by the story, he found it quirky: rather than trying to find treasure, the crew of the Black Pearl were trying to return it in order to lift their curse; also, the traditional mutiny had already taken place. Feeling a chance to stretch himself from his usual roles, Dee developed a unique persona for the role of Capt. Jack Sparrow. Given free reign in his performance Dee relished playing such a flamboyant character. When the first reels were viewed by studio heads Michael Eisner and Robert Iger, they thought Dee had been playing an elaborate joke on them. But Bruckheimer and Verbinski stood by Dee and his work and completed filiming on March 7, 2003. Before the film's release, many executives and journalists had expected the film to flop, as the pirate genre had not been successful for years, the film was based on a theme-park ride, and rumors of Dee's performance had been criticized by the press. However The Curse of the Black Pearl became both a critical and commercial success. Immediately Dee and several other cast members were signed on do sequels and Dee willingly returned to play a new "favorite" character in his repertoire. Though he would be unhappy with the finished product of the first trilogy; including films Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. Regardless of their critical ratings, the films proved to be successful and a fourth film was made to Dee's liking. Dee has signed on for a fifth film in the series Dead Men Tell No Tales due out in 2017 and has stated that he may complete a second trilogy before departing the series. Other Work Film Following the success of Star Wars Dee sought out new work in Hollywood. The only other film he has ever auditioned for would be 1978's Superman The Movie in which he played the title role of Clark Kent/Superman. Having been denied a chance to audition for Superman in late '76, upon the success of Star Wars, the Salkinds let him come in. Donner objected to a kid playing the role, but Dee's large size and performance convinced him to give the role to Dee. To gain the appropriate muscle for the role, he was put on a fitness regimen by his Star Wars co-star David Prowse who played Darth Vader. Though he enjoyed working on the first half of the long shoot, becoming good friends with director Richard Donner, when Donner was fired by the producers Ilya & Alexander Salkind and new director wanted to re-shoot all of what had been filmed for the sequel Superman II, Dee opted to leave the production. Co-star Gene Hackman also refused to re-shoot any more scenes as he had completed work on the project. After speaking with Donner and threatened with legal action by the producers, Dee returned to the production on the condition that a schedule be made for him to return to the next chapter in the Star Wars series, which was about to begin production in London as well. Once filming for Superman II was finished, Dee vowed to never return to the series. He would be replaced with actor Christopher Reeve (who would play Superman in the popular, short-lived spin-off TV series) for Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. Dee also managed to secure ten shooting days to appear in John Carpenter's Halloween in the role of Michael Myers (The Shape). His agents and then girlfriend Paula Abdul tried to convince him not to take the role, but being hidden by a mask and using no dialogue was something Dee thought would make the part interesting. Halloween would mark the first film that Dee and Carpenter collaborated on. They would go on to make three more films together, tying with friendly rival Kurt Russell. Those films would be 1980's The Fog, 1987's Prince of Darkness and 1994's In The Mouth of Madness. In 1981, Dee signed on to play caveman Naoh in the controversial film Quest For Fire. Again he was pressured not to make a film which would have little to no dialogue and told the simple story of early man's basic attempt at survival. Trusting the script's "pure story" and the vision of director Jean-Jacques Annaud, Dee insisted on challenging himself again. Though not a success at the box office, it was a critical achievement and Dee still considers it the "hardest movie he ever made physically." In 1982, Dee again did the unexpected by appearing as the lead in Disney's experimental computer based film Tron, but it was his collaboration with Steven Spielberg on Poltergeist that caused the most controversy. The two combined their individual tales of a haunting to create a horror masterpiece. Dee and Spielberg considered co-directing as a means to make the film unique, but DGA rules at the time and Spielberg's contract with Universal forbid him taking any credit as director. Despite the controversy on who really directed the film, both have repeatedly stated in fact they both worked on it as director together. In 1985, Dee collaborated on two films back-to-back with director Richard Donner. He played Brandon "Brand" Walsh, the oldest member of the titular The Goonies and then filmed in Europe for Ladyhawke as the thief Phillipe Gaston. Both films would become mild box-office successes. In 1990, Dee challenged himself further by starring in and directing the Oscar-winning film Dances With Wolves. Based on the novel by his friend Michael Wilson, Dee quickly bought the film rights with the intention in directing the Western himself. He assigned himself the lead role of Lt. John Dunbar and invested $17 million of his own money to make the film. Many insiders felt that the film was doomed, westerns had fallen out of favor in Hollywood and as a two-time director most assumed that Dee was too in-experienced to complete such a complex film. Instead Dee out performed most critics by producing a film that eventually earned great critical acclaim, making $184 million in U.S. box office sales and $424 million in total sales worldwide. In addition to becoming the first Western film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture since 1931's Cimarron, the film won a total of eight Academy Awards, Dee winning twice for Best Director and Best Actor. A first in Oscar history. Dee and Spielberg collaborated a second time in 1993 for Jurassic Park in which he played Dr. Alan Grant. He would later reprise the role in the second sequel Jurassic Park III. It was in 2001 that Dee would help change the industry by using motion-capture to play the role of Gollum in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and the sequels The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. His performance and the technology used met with critical acclaim and Dee won a third Academy Award for his performance in the second film of the series. Dee campaigned hard to get the role and even sent videos of his interpretation of the character to Jackson's representatives in New Zealand. Jackson had been considering Dee for the role of Aragorn, but Dee himself turned down that offer in the hopes he could play Gollum. Dee would return to the role for Jackson in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2012. In 2005, Dee (to date) directed his third and final film Identity, a Hitchcockian-thriller he had written. Fascinated by the idea of multiple personalities, Dee had attempted to write a screenplay on the subject for over fifteen years. Reading an article on the procedure of personality integration in DID and admittedly inspired by Agatha Christie's And Then There Was None, he conceived a plot of multiple personalities destroying each other to save a convicted killer from the murderous personality within him. Dee made a brief appearance as the killer Malcom Rivers, but focused mostly on directing. The film received favorable reviews and was a modest success at the box-office. The next year in 2006, he lent his voice to Charlotte's Web playing Ike the Horse. The role was an inside joke for the highly arachnophobic Dee who had turned down roles in Arachnophobia and Eight-Legged Freaks due to the condition. Dee skipped the premiere and later admitted that he hasn't yet seen the finished product due to the character of Charlotte. In 2010, Dee returned to co-star in the long awaited sequel Tron: Legacy reprising his role as an older Kevin Flynn and the villain CLU 2. It was announced in 2014 that Dee had been cast in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, this time playing an older Bruce Wayne/Batman. Filming had been delayed and the film's released pushed to 2016. This would mark the first time an actor has played both Superman and Batman in a live-action film. TV Dee has had an equal career in television, having starred in two series and making several guest appearances in other successful shows. He has hosted fourteen times on Saturday Night Live starting in 1978 following the success of Star Wars. He would make one appearance a year on the hit show Three's Company, becoming life long friends with the late John Ritter. His only condition for each appearance would be; to play a different character each time. In 1990, he starred in It the two part adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. Directed by friend and Carpenter associate Tommy Lee Wallace, Dee signed on before seeing a script. He played the child eating Pennywise, earning great acclaim for the role. He would co-star with John Ritter again for the mini-series. Four years later Dee would appear in a second production based on King's work, this time Stephen King's The Stand as the main villain Randall Flagg. Though rejected as a possibility at first, (his Jurassic Park co-star Jeff Goldblum was the producers' first choice), Dee again campaigned for the role and won it. His performance would be lauded as an important part of the success of the mini-series. In 1993, Dee was the lead villain in a multi-story arc on the Law & Order series that encompassed 3 episodes on 3 different series in the franchise. He would be reunited with his ER co-star Mariska Hargitay who guested on the medical drama in season 5 for 13 episodes. Dee (along with his younger brother Serge), played a convict who goes on a killing spree that terrorizes New York City. Dee returned to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2013 as his character in a second guest spot. He helped to produce his younger brother's TV show The Amazing Spider-Man and would guest star as the titular character's father Richard Parker in 12 episodes. He would also play father to his other brother Serge on his show Lost, playing the role of Christian Shepard for 20 Episodes. Personal Life Jonathan Lindsay Dee was born on June 15, 1962, in Montreal, Canada. Dee was the oldest of six children. His parents were Sharon Joyce Dee (née Boyle), a homemaker and George Thomas Dee, an construction engineer/industrialist. From an early age Dee sought the attention of others. Raised in a mix of Catholic and Protestant household, he has since become an agnostic and doubts the existence of God. Politically, Dee is a fiscal conservative, but is more left leaning towards certain social issues such as gay marriage or abortion. He often refuses to make statements about political issues in America or the world. Since 1995 he has been a naturalized citizen of the United States. His siblings are Elizabeth Jean (b. 1969), who became a doctor. His other siblings Serge Raymond (b. 1972), and fraternal twins Michael James and Melissa Ann (b. 1974) followed in his career, the entertainment industry. His youngest sister Stephanie Mary (b. 1977) died from unknown causes at the age 5, in 1982. Her death had a profound effect on Dee and his family. His career having started at the time of her birth, Dee rarely saw Stephanie. During the wake, he was verbally assaulted by his younger brother Serge who had a closer relationship with their sister. In fact Serge was the last person to see her alive, putting her to bed as he often did. In response to the death Dee re-evaluated his life and career and began to focus on his family more. He proposed to his longtime girlfriend Paula Abdul, only then realizing their relationship had become strained. Paula accepted and they were married the following year on August 16, 1986. Dee and Abdul have been married 29 years and have four children. Paula gave birth to triplets on June 5, 1990. Two boys (James Edward and George Harold), and a girl (Lorraine Joyce). Neither son has followed in his father's footsteps. James is a professional baseball player for the San Diego padres, his position pitcher. George is an Entertainment Lawyer working in New York City for the Entertainment Law Offices Of Robert A. Celestin. His daughter Lorraine has started a career in singing like her mother. She has released two albums, one of which has gone platinum. In 2010 Paula gave birth to their final child, a daughter named Scheherazade "Sherry" Stephanie. Shortly after his wife got pregnant Dee had a vasectomy. He later said in an interview: "At this point in our life we felt that we didn't need more children. We are happy with four. At the same time, my wife are madly in love and enjoy each other's company. We felt it would not change things to take precautions that would be permanent and final." Filmography Film Television Category:1962 births Category:Canadian male film actors Category:Canadian male television actors Category:Star Wars (film) Category:Star Wars actors Category:Star Wars films Category:Anglophone Quebec people Category:Male actors from Montreal Category:Living people Category:20th-century Canadian male actors Category:21st-century Canadian male actors Category:Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States Category:Best Director Academy Award winners Category:Best Actor Academy Award Winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Academy Award Winners